What is really necessary in the world? There are three real big things: oxygen, water, and sustenance.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBRvygIKRU
Right now, I didn't have much of all three.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNAzW4mwzN
My heart was pounding. I didn't have the time to wipe the sweat that was running in rivulets down my face. I had been running for the past hour with no let up. I risk the quick glance over my shoulder to check on my pursuers. They were trying, but I was too far ahead. With the last vestiges of strength left in my burning calves, I pushed myself over the finish line.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0ILj7v90t
"Time!" roared the instructor. "Hurry up, you pansies! Finish up this lap!"478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4n75eo7Ge
I felt my legs slowly giving out. I managed to stumble over to the water cooler where I collapsed under the spigot. As the water poured over my head, I heard someone shambling over to my final resting place.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBK2inpSwt
"Damn, dude. You probably set a new track record."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLF3yp5Vkx
Alex, our school's top athlete and my personal best friend, came over and fell down besides me.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclmTglv1hA
"What, a record on how close someone's been to entering the light?"
He gave a laugh, and sat up.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXauNLtsOd
"But still, how did you piss him off so much? He never makes us run for an hour." Alex's smile turned into a clouded frown.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjsQXPHVV4
"Oh, you know," came a sing-song voice from the shade, "Max is always getting into trouble."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdC5RcNfOC
"Just shut up, Melissa." I groaned.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5wC2pv40A
Melissa Achinson. The premier bitch of the school. Everybody hates her. Except for the gym teacher. Everybody knows he sides with the girls about everything, the sexist bastard, but it's pretty funny to hear the rumours of somethin-somethin going on between him and some girl in the locker room.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oD6rg3UqG
"Naughty. Are you being mean to me? I could go tell Mr. Rodriguez." Her grin was wider than the Cheshire Cat's.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEdu3D3JYq
Alex slowly got up and headed towards her, but the class bell halted his progress. I knew that he was the only one who would take the wrath of Mr. Rodriguez, but punching his favorite student probably would be going over the top.
"Back off, Alex," I warned. "We don't need another reason to get extra laps."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNAc7Mjugx
He reluctantly came back to the water cooler where the other runners were. I pulled myself to my feet and the class started walking back towards the locker room.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvoZdRoMQI
"She needs to get hit by a bus," Alex quipped as we walked further away from the track.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iEjpnWQQZ
I smiled at the thought. "Or at least break an ankle. That would shut her up."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGtbw8d63G
I looked back at her posse of lemmings, and just as I did that, my heart felt like it was being crushed. My vision blurred and I grabbed my chest.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBB6HPRkH0
"Yo, you alright?" Alex had his worry face on.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqUcl89D6a
"I told you, I'm seeing the light."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkdZii3uQ9
He smiled and helped me steady myself. The pain was immense, and I thought I was actually having a heart attack. Then, suddenly, I could see fine. The pain disappeared, and I was back to staring at the bitch patrol.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XWf6fySEe
I was about to say something when I saw Melissa step wrong. Her foot was suddenly upside down, and a brutal crack echoed around the students, followed by a scream.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9biMka7vd6
Mr. Rodriguez was instantly by her side, asking if she was ok, and checking on her foot. It was quite obvious that is was broken, as we could clearly see bone through the broken skin, but Mr. Rodriguez took his time before admitting that is was, in fact, a pretty nasty fracture.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2ZZLopZ5B
Alex had a look of pure glee on his face. "Oh, man. You called it," he kept saying. "You called it. Did you see that? That was friggin' awesome!"478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSjHppRH1e
"Dude, calm down. She just stepped wrong."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXicdwSpBD
"Uh-uh. No. There is no way that an ankle can just turn like that. You had to have done that. You are my hero." He turned towards me and started bowing down.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFfP1XDyEH
I put my elbow into his ribs. "Just shut up. I had nothing to do with that. Let's just go, we still have class.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eTn37eOOA
It must've been a complete coincidence. There's no other way to explain it.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYXkZEGTgs
While walking home from school, I reflect on the day. I always do this, mainly to remember what homework I have to do. Today, there's one thing that stands out in my mind.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUh3NaCJ7sY
"How did she do it?" I asked myself.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnTrXw263o
It wasn't everyday when someone turns their ankle upside down, so this was pretty spectacular. Everyone at school knew by lunch, and someone was even able to snap a picture of the gruesome event. I know because it popped up on Twitter. Multiple times.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbIt7kChUb
I reached the door of my house. I unlocked it and went in.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kJo2hRwFq
"K, I'm home!"478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJorMGGRDdX
Kaylee, or for me, K, is my little sister. She's a couple of years younger than me, so she goes to middle school. She looks almost exactly like me, but, mentally, we are completely different. I have a few hobbies I'm into. She has more than I care to count.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMMidILCBm
"I hear you broke someone's ankle."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUXHG6hZnn
"For God's sake, that wasn't me." It was frustrating having everyone congratulate me for doing something that can't be done by a human.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSLIn232gH
"Well, anyway, good job on that," she congratulated me.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPyvaSn8xp
I found her lying in front of the tv, watching some foreign cartoon.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRY1TLBZJ0V
"Can you not watch that weird stuff when I'm around?"478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPT8fKzce68
"Please," she begged, "just let me finish this episode. It's the newest episode of Henneko. It just came out." She looked up at me with pleading eyes.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkHBqT9qk2
"Fine," I sighed. "Did they bring something for dinner?"478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIihVqVgbA
K had already turned back to the tv. "Yeah, it looks like chicken."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hr3uVbSWu
"They" was out parents. They were almost never home. They usually just restocked the fridge and brought dinner for when we got home. We've gotten used to living mostly on our own.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xdnToGOWw
"I'll be in my room if you need me." I called as I headed up the stairs.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWezJ5Ws2d9
I reached my room and immediately went to my computer. My computer was my life away from school. After all the work I had put into getting it, it should be my main priority. I logged on and was watching some youtube, checking in with my friends, when I saw an email pop up. It was Alex.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyix8UkAStN
Dude, you're famous. Everyone at track was talking about you. You're gonna have a parade when you get back to school.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfK4iJjHW0H
I rolled my eyes as I clicked the delete button. I didn't want to deal with the fact that I was now the magical ankle breaker.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8oxQFMKiz
I stayed up in my room for an hour while I watched my cult following grow, then I walked down to the kitchen to get dinner ready. All that I had to do was microwave the chicken, so I decided to start with our side, which, by a random selection, turned out to be broccoli.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlZGZadZxU
"Seriously, are we really going to have broccoli?" K complained as I told her the menu.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7HduzIy4q
"This is the last of the broccoli. Once we finish it, they won't bring any for a while."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsSdGAoz4C
K's frown lessened as she saw the logic in my plan, and finally, after a good minute, nodded her head.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvjfewKHyC
"Good," I said gently, as if I was talking to my own child, "I'm glad we could agree on this."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQ4ToCEGIi
She rolled her eyes and flipped me off before heading back to the tv.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreNS42ZXTh
I smiled and went back to the kitchen as I finished preparing our dinner.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50f1JcO8ei
While I was putting everything on plates, K came back in to help me. She got out the utensils and grabbed her plate of food. I grabbed my plate and followed her out to the couch. We sat in silence as we munched on our food.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSaqcxzOa4
"Hey, what really happened at the school?"478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4SsegCqHn
I looked up from my plate. K had set her plate down and was looking at me with an intent look on her face.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6ZnPg9um3
"Honestly," I admitted, "I don't know. I was walking with Alex and we were joking about what terrible things could happen to Melissa. I turn around and suddenly she's got a broken ankle."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPVnovRTho
"I don't think that's all of it." She was looking like a scholar trying to figure out an especially hard problem. "It's just not possible for her to completely flip her ankle. I mean, the foot can't do that. It's not made that way."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XT6BcXd55
"Well, there has to be some explanation for it. Is not like I had a heart attack and that caused her to break it."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBPoEDSoeU
"Wait," she sat up, "you had a heart attack?"478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BlsrpOekv
"I don't know. It sure as hell felt like one, though."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUNjmbc2Nw
She stood up and grabbed her plate. "It might just be me, but I think you have magic powers, bro."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1komBgbK1
I made a face. "I've told you a billion times. Don't call me "bro". It feels weird."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQU34JrzU4U
"I know," she smiled, "but I'll do it anyway. I got the dishes tonight."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPDWz0DoFF
She picked up my plate and skipped into the kitchen. I sat down and looked through what was playing on tv. The only things that were playing were news, so I switched to our Netflix account. I pulled up a movie and waited for K to finish putting the dishes in the dishwasher. She finished up and came out to the living room, she saw the movie and a smile appeared on her face. It was one that we always used to watch when we were little.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG3dvhxqnY
She crawled onto the the couch and snuggled up against me. I hit the remote and the the familiar credits started appearing on the screen. Even though we had seen it more times than we cared to count, the acting seemed just as fresh.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvUoy07Cqp
We were silent throughout the movie. It was a pleasant flick, and it brought back memories for both of us. When the movie was finally over, we both got up and stretched. I quickly checked the time. It was almost 11.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjX30pzUY2j
"Hey, we still have school tomorrow," I said. "Get ready for bed. I'm going to quickly put the dishes away."478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISblFrOILy
K just nodded as she sleepily rubbed her eyes. I patted her on the head and she went off to her room. I grabbed our plates from the dishwasher and set them back in the cabinet. I could hear K splashing around in the shower, and I thought about how hard it is to function without parents all the time.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKO5SXRoQSb
I walked over to my room, where I took off my shirt and threw it in the laundry. I could feel my muscles tightening up as I walked to my own bathroom, where I got in the shower. The hot water pouring over my body did wonders to my worn out calves.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBmnOv673p
When I finished with the shower, I brushed my teeth, and walked over to my bed. I got in it and just stared at the ceiling before reaching over and turning off the light. The room plunged into darkness, and all I could do was let sleep overtake my weary body.478Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16jpTndpuq
